From the 1994 CD “Cheerful & Optimistic.” This is one of Cortez’s occasional pan-Africanist statements of purpose. She shit-talks not only the corpse of Cecil Rhodes but the Tonton Macoutes as well. Guest musicians include two kora players from Gambia.

“I saw Willie Mae ‘Big Mama’ Thornton when she was a young optimistic singer with the Johnny Otis band in Watts... where I grew up in the 1950s. Later I saw her perform with her own band at folk clubs like the Ash Grove in Los Angeles and at blues festivals.

“The last time I saw and spoke to Willie Mae was at the Cookery Restaurant in New York City. She was working with pianist Sammy Price who had gotten her the gig replacing singer Alberta Hunter for a week in the early 1980s.

“Big Mama, a strong, brilliant singer whose performances were intense and unpredictable, made the owner, Barney Josephson, a nervous wreck. By then her dreams had dimmed, her health was bad and reality had clicked.

“My poem written in the 1980s describes some of the events and places where she touched down. In the poem, Bumblebee is an imaginary force, a poetic device that evolves from promoter, to sweetheart, to rival, to abuser, to enemy. ...”

2 comments:

I saw her at the Vision Festival in NYC last year with Denardo on drums. I was so tired that day and tried to stay awake for her set - which was the last one of the evening.

She tore it up!! Fire and brimstone in an erudite way. Oh Yeah - I was awake and awakened. Glad you're showing her off. I can't wait until the next opportunity to check her vibe again. The band was killa too.